Choosing to Live With or Without Debt

Dealing With Debt – Part 2

How do I make a plan for my debt?

We will need to look at making a plan for your debt from two angles: living with debt and living without debt.  Remember you’ve made one of these two choices already. You are either going to make a plan that leads you to live a life free of all debts or you’ve chosen a life of debt and you need a plan to help manage this choice.  What you do is all on you because “your life is your business.”

What should you do if you currently have debts?  You need to create a plan. This plan begins with the decision you made of whether to live with it or not.  This decision will give you the relief to move forward. Indecisiveness places us at a stand-still. I’ve not only seen but experienced the effects of handling debt poorly.  It’s caused me to lose a few things like homes and even sued in court. To avoid this happening to you, put a plan in place on how to handle your debts. Determine your limits and how much at any given time you and your family can comfortably handle.  Have a plan to avoid getting in over your head.

Choosing to live with debt?

Maybe you don’t have any yet, but are planning on it in the near future.  You need to be smart about it. Study it and don’t allow a seller to talk you into it.  I recall my 1st home purchase, my real-estate agent wanted to use every penny I was earning on the largest mortgage I could (not afford) be approved.

Planning means you’ve looked at the positives and the negatives and have a plan in place for the worst case scenarios, like loss of income.  It’s your life, your business you should have the final say and not be pressured into making any decisions, especially those that could cause your own pain and suffering.

In planning to live with debt, maybe you have decided to only have one type of debt. Maybe you’re just not ready to cut the cord on having debts and what you have needs to be better managed.  No matter what the scenario, don’t be embarrassed or ashamed to define it, discuss it, and write down the obstacles that it brings. Your next step is simply to eliminate those obstacles. You’re now on your way to having a more satisfying, stress-free life.

Choosing to live free of debt?

Living without debt can be a very challenging goal.  For those who already have it, it can take years to eliminate.  It took years to acquire and it takes time to remove. Therefore, you need a plan, a map, a guide you can follow to get rid of it.  Without a plan, it’s darn near impossible.

I’m not going to provide a 7 step approach to living debt-free.  Everyone’s journey is unique, but what I am going to give you is one tip that will have the most impact.  Ready for it? Start surrounding yourself with people who are either debt-free or aggressively pursuing it.  Setting the right environment is the key. Changing your environment changes you. When you change what’s within, what’s without will soon follow.  Your thinking changes, your speech changes and your actions change.

If you don’t know where to start with making your plan, start by writing this statement.  “I’ve decided to become free of all debts. What’s one step I can take next?” Next, list them all in one place so that you can review regularly, like your family plan.  Then begin to make the steps to reduce at least one.

Today is Friday!
We’ve discussed the two types of debt plans available.  You can either plan to live with debt or you can plan to live without debt, but you can’t have it both ways.  Make a decision because without a decision, you’ll never reach a goal. Your life is your business!

[su_note note_color="#FFFFFF" text_color="#000000"]The Family Plan Binder is available now!

Our team has worked very hard putting it together. We designed it to help you and your family move the needle forward in making your life your business. Find out more about the Family plan here.[/su_note]